Friday, July 28, 2017

My Kind Of Crosstown, Part II - Chris the Cubs Fan's Take

I'll tear the bandage off quickly...
The Sox starters didn't look too bad in the first three innings of their respective starts on Wednesday and Thursday. But, predictably, the Cubs took both games on the South side and won the Crosstown Cup 3-1 in 2017. (A hollow victory...)
Ultimately, Shields' pitch count got the better of him in game one at Guaranteed Rate Field and got literally slugged out of the game. (Crazy stat about his six consecutive starts mid-season that totalled a 24+ ERA. Since then he had gone six starts with a 2.12 ERA. Once again- baseball.) Moncada flashed some "future hype" with a strong home run to dead center but the recently reverted reliever-from-starter Mike Montgomery covered the last three innings of a strong start from Jake Arrieta. He's finally beginning to regain some form- and when that happens, ask any team if theycan score more than 2 off him. The young Sox also didn't help themselves with some defensive miscues in the infield. Does Moncada play shortstop? Because 22 errors for Tim Anderson just doesn't seem to be cutting it.
I thought Pelfrey would stifle the Cubs a bit more on Thursday. (He had very similar numbers to Jon Lester, his opponent, coming into the matchup on the season aside from wins.) He did well in the first three, but as we've seen that doesn't always mean a good end result. The long ball was once again was prominent for both teams but more prevalent for the Cubbies.
In the end, as we've discussed, a pretty predictable series. The Sox beat up on the rebuilding Cubs a few years ago and the Cubs do the same here. Until next year, the Crosstown Cup will live on the North Side.